Video: Fair Farms Maryland Legislative Victories

During the 2017 Maryland General Assembly’s legislative session, Fair Farms advocated for four bills. They all passed. In this video, Fair Farms founder Betsy Nicholas discusses the importance of these policies for Marylanders.

The bills include:

The Keep Antibiotics Effective Act (Senate Bill 422/House Bill 602), sponsored by Senator Paul Pinsky and Del. Shane Robinson, will limit the use of human antibiotics in farm animals that are not sick in order to protect the public health from antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

The Food Donation Pilot Program (Senate Bill 416/House Bill 472), sponsored by Sen. Thomas “Mac” Middleton and Del. Sally Jameson, will allow farmers to donate their leftover foods at the end of a farmers market and receive a tax credit in return.

Healthy Soils (House Bill 1063). This bill, sponsored by Del. Dana Stein, will establish a program at the Maryland Department of Agriculture to provide technical assistance, research, education, and—hopefully, in the future—financial incentives to farmers who implement practices that contribute to healthy soils. This means practices that increase the biological activity of soil and its organic matter, as well as those that sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.